The Rookie
by Oliviet
Summary: A few snippets of Beckett's rookie days back when she worked with Olivia Benson from SVU. Inspired by a gifset I saw on Tumblr.


Olivia recognizes the look on the young cop's face the moment the gun goes off. The utter terror and disgust that comes with taking a life for the first time. She can't blame the rookie; she saw the whole thing and it was certainly self defense. That doesn't make it any easier though, even once you make detective.

She watches the woman, still young enough to get carded and be questioned about it being a fake, frozen with her gun still raised. Her breathing is shallow; her eyes unblinking. She's in shock. Olivia's been there. She's knows.

She moves over to the girl. "What's your name?"

"Beckett. Kate Beckett," she stammers.

Olivia recognizes the name. The rumor mill has her making detective as the youngest female in the NYPD. Even Munch has put money on it.

"I've heard good things about you, Officer."

Kate nods, gun still aimed at the spot where the perp had been standing. "Thank you."

"Here, why don't we just put the gun down?" Olivia gently pushes on her arms, snapping her back to the present.

Kate shakes her head as she holsters her gun. "Does it feel like that every time you have to kill someone?"

"It happens less often than you think. But yes."

The young cop wraps her arms around herself. "I'm going to have to face the Review Board now aren't I?"

"I know it sounds scary, but it's really not that bad. It was self defense. I'll even vouch for you."

The woman smiles back at her weakly.

"And hey don't worry; you can still beat the record for youngest female detective of the NYPD."

That gets her to laugh. Apparently, she's heard the rumors too. "Do you know who holds that title right now?"

"I think her name is Victoria Gates."

Kate hums. "Never heard of her."

"Well if you beat her record, I'm sure you'll hear plenty from her."

She laughs again. Olivia digs around in her pocket until she finds one of her cards that she normally hands out to victims.

"In case you ever need anything," Olivia tells her, handing it over and starting to walk away.

Kate looks down at the card. "Thank you, Detective Benson."

"Please, call me Olivia."

She rejoins her partner talking to some uniforms on the corner.

"Well so much for catching our rapist," he mutters as she sidles up beside him.

"Ah come on, El. His defense lawyer would have gotten the insanity plea for him for sure. At least now he can't hurt anyone again."

He huffs as they walk back over to their car.

"Where'd she shoot him at anyway?" she asks him.

"Kill shot. Right between the eyes."

"Ah her training kicked in: aim higher than your intended target. Guess her nerves made her aim too high."

"Being shot at will do that to a person."

"Think Munch made any money off this?" she asks with a smirk.

"Well, she hasn't made detective…yet."

* * *

The next time she sees her, she's in her bullpen filing paperwork. Olivia smiles at the sight of the familiar face.

"So, what'd you do?" Olivia teases, coming up behind her.

"What do you mean?" Kate tosses over her shoulder, yanking open the top drawer of the filing cabinet.

"I mean you're stuck here, in my precinct," she starts, picking up a case file with her name on it. "Doing my grunt work. Who'd you piss off?"

"My captain," she grumbles, snatching the file back from Olivia and putting it away.

"Shoot somebody else in our time apart?"

"No," she huffs, staring at a file trying to decode Munch's chicken scratch.

"Let me help you with that."

It's taken her a couple of years, but she's finally learned to decipher the guy's handwriting. She puts it away with ease, causing Kate to sigh and slump into the chair she's pulled up next to the filing cabinet.

"Thanks."

Olivia pulls a chair up to next to her. "If you don't mind me asking, what happened?"

Kate eyes her suspiciously. "Why are you taking such a personal interest in me? Do you have a big bet in my youngest detective fund or something?"

"You know about that?" she asks surprised.

The girl shrugs.

"First of all, no. I have no money placed on you because I find the whole thing to be unprofessional. And secondly, you remind me of me. I was the rookie to beat in my class too."

Kate gives her that soft smile; the one she kept giving her at the crime scene the first time she met her. "I umm I got caught looking into some files I shouldn't have been looking at." Olivia must have given her a strange look because she corrects herself quickly. "It's not like it was porn or anything. Just some stuff on a murder that happened a few years ago."

Olivia tries to think back on any high profile murder cases from the past couple of years. The name Beckett keeps sticking out in her mind. Why does she feel like she's worked with someone with that name before? Suddenly it hits her.

"You're Johanna's daughter aren't you?"

Kate nods, looking even smaller in her Blues.

"I think there are rules against investigating murders of family members," Olivia says, gently.

"Why do you think I'm here?" Kate groans, gesturing to the paperwork.

"Because you haven't made detective yet," she tells her with a wink, moving to stand.

She knows she shouldn't be encouraging her to look into her own mother's murder, but let's face it, if Serena had been murdered, she wouldn't let anyone else touch that case, SVU or not.

* * *

"Yo Beckett, we got visitors."

Kate looks up from her murder board towards Esposito and groans when she sees a captain that's not Montgomery headed her way. She silently curses Perlmutter for finding evidence of rape. She wanted this case. Closing something as high profile as this could finally get her promoted to first class detective.

"Detective Beckett?" the man inquires.

"That's me," she answers, forcing the best fake smile she can muster.

She notices a woman walk in behind him, but she doesn't pay her much attention.

"Captain Cragen, Special Victims Unit," he introduces himself, extending his hand.

The name sounds familiar. "I think we've met," she replies, shaking his hand. "Probably back in my rookie days."

"Wouldn't surprise me. New York is a smaller city than we think it is, especially within the NYPD."

Kate laughs politely, now eyeing the woman who came in with him. "Olivia?"

Cragen looks at her confused as she tries to see around his shoulders. The woman looks up from Esposito's desk.

"Kate? Or should I say _Detective_ Beckett?"

She comes over and hugs her, catching everyone a little off guard.

"I haven't heard from you since I made detective. The perverts keeping you that busy?"

"Unfortunately."

"You two know each other?" Esposito asks the question on Cragen's face, joining the conversation.

"I met Olivia during my rookie days. She helped me through my first kill."

Olivia laughs. "You make it sound like you're an assassin."

Kate laughs back and the two men continue to stare on in confusion. "So you're taking my big promotion case away from me, huh?"

"I'm afraid so. Your M.E. cried rape, we came running."

Kate sighs, gesturing toward her murder board. "Have at it. I hope you catch the sick bastard."

* * *

Kate's nearly asleep when her phone rings. She looks at the caller ID. It's Olivia.

"What's up Liv?" she yawns.

"Can you meet me somewhere?" she sounds close to tears.

Kate looks at the clock. It's nearly one. Bars stay open until two right?

"How about the Old Haunt?" It's the first place that comes to mind, no doubt because Castle won't stop talking about his new purchases for the place.

Olivia squeaks out a yes and hangs up the phone. 20 minutes later, Kate is sitting on a bar stool when she walks in and takes a seat next to her.

"You look like hell. And you're not even the one who's been shot." Olivia elbows her, accepting the drink Kate pushes her way. "So what happened?"

She takes a long drink before answering. "Elliot's gone."

Kate's face grows ashen. "As in dead?"

Olivia shakes her head. "No, sorry no, he's fine."

Kate sighs with relief. "Then what do you mean gone?"

"Elliot turned his papers in. He left SVU…he left me without even telling me. He just upped and left and I can't even get a hold of him."

"Do you think something bad has happened to him?" Kate asks, putting a hand on her friend's arm.

"No. His, our, last case he had to shoot a teenager and killed her. I just think it got to him."

"That's still no reason for him to avoid you. You were there when it happened, weren't you?"

"You're avoiding Castle right now," Olivia argues.

"That's different. He told me he was in love with me while I was bleeding out of my chest."

Olivia shrugs taking another long drink. "I don't know what I ever expected to happen with us. He's married. Even when they were separated he still wouldn't choose me."

"Well the NYPD does sort of frown on dating your partner."

Olivia throws her a look. Kate throws her hands up in defense.

"We're not dating. And besides he's not even officially NYPD."

"Uh uh sure."

Kate scoffs, taking a sip of her own drink. "Elliot's an ass. We've known that since the beginning. So fuck him!"

"I'd like to. I'd _really _like to."

"Okay that is so not what I meant," Kate groans, pushing her.

"I'm sorry. I know I'm acting like a pouty teenager about this whole thing. It's just that after 12 years, don't I at least deserve an explanation or a goodbye?"

"You do. Which is why he's an ass."

"A hot piece of ass."

"Okay seriously when was the last time you got laid?"

"I could ask you the same thing," Olivia mumbles.

"Hey I have…had a boyfriend."

Olivia rolls her eyes. "Right, if you don't have a thing for Castle, why'd you break up with Josh?"

"It's complicated. And besides this isn't about me. It's about you. So how'd you find out that he left for good?"

She sighs. "Cragen told me. He offered me some time off, which I didn't take. Are my feelings for him really that transparent?"

"Cragen's been around you guys since the beginning of your partnership. He's seen you protect each other and lie for each other. He knows what Elliot means to you with or without the knowledge that you want to jump his bones."

Olivia laughs at that. "I do. I do want to do that."

Kate smiles back. "I know you do. So what did you do after Cragen gave you the news?"

"I went and cried in an interrogation room." She laughs at herself. "I sound pathetic don't I?"

"If you are, I am too. I cried after Castle decided to take his ex-wife to the Hamptons with him instead of me last summer."

"At least he loves you."

"I still haven't decided if that's a good thing or not."

"You're protective of him, Kate. And you get extremely jealous easily. He's not choosing either of his ex-wives this time. He's choosing you. And I know that terrifies you, but don't let it."

* * *

"You look stunning," Lanie tells her with a huge smile.

"You really do, Kate," Alexis agrees. "My dad's face is going to be priceless when he sees you walking down that aisle.

"Yeah, no offense, but I'll be watching him and not you," Olivia laughs.

"Oh sure, leave it to the maid of honor to be the snarky one," Kate says, adjusting the top of her wedding dress.

"All in good fun," she keeps laughing.

"I'm going to go check on Gram and make sure she's ready," Alexis explains. "Lanie, do you want to go check on the boys?"

Lanie nods and the two bridesmaids leave the room.

"I told you that letting him love you was a good thing," Olivia smirks as she stands behind Kate staring into the full length mirror.

"Well now, don't we know everything?"

"I do. I proved this the day I met you."

"Oh man, that seems like forever ago. You're making me feel old."

"Hey now, I'm older than you are," Olivia pouts, trying to hide her smile.

Kate drapes her arm around her, still staring at their reflections in the mirror. "I don't know what I would have done without you there that day."

"You'd have been fine. Lanie would be your maid of honor."

She laughs. "I'm serious, Liv. My life wouldn't be the same without you in it. Rookie days and all."

* * *

AN: Dedicated to Laura (oliviabensons on tumblr) because she makes evil gifsets and makes me feels things.


End file.
